Improvement in extinguishing fire and apparatus therefor



D. MCLENNAN.

EXTINGUISHING FIRE AND APPARATUS THEREFOR.

No. 188,929, Patented March 27,1877.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' DONALD MOLENNAN, OF WEST GREEN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT To MARY ANN DAvIs, OF LoNDoN, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN EXTINGUISHING FIRE AND APPARATUS THEREFOR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 188,929, dated March 27, 1877; application filed December 21, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DONALD MGLENNAN, of West Green, in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented a new and Improved Fire-Extin guishin g Apparatus and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention is an improvement in means for extinguishing fires by discharging water from stationary perforated tubes attached to the walls or ceilings of rooms, halls, 850., of buildings.

The improvement relates particularly to the construction and arrangement of devices for turning on and shutting off water in the several rooms in which the perforated tubes are located, as hereinafter fully described.

' In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a partly sectional perspective view of a building with my improved fire'extinguishing apparatus attached. Fig. 2 is a perspective detail view of the apparatus.

a a are perforated tubes at the upper part of the rooms in the building or structure, said tubes being carried along the Walls just beneath the ceiling, and, in the case of large warehouses, also across the ceiling from side to side or end to end of a room. These pipes have small perforations, through which, on the occurrence of fire, the water is forced by the pressure and ejected in small streams, so directed by the position of the perforations as to fall like a shower of rain over the whole area of the room. By this means the fire will be soon extinguished without spreading beyond the place where it broke out. The pipes at in each room communicate with a main pipe, b, leading from the cistern at the top of the building, or from the water-main in the street, as the case may be.

At or contiguous to the junction of the several tubes at with the supply-tube b are located cocks c, for controlling the discharge of water,

and enabling it to be let on or shut off from any room or floor irrespective of the others in the same building, so that the damage may be localized or confined to the room or rooms where the fire originated. Each cock 0 is operated by a connecting-rod, d, elbow-lever e, and a pull-rod, f. The several pull-rods are arranged together, and extend downward by the side of the wall of the building, and are provided with suitable handles g, as shown. By pulling any one or more of the rods,f, the water will be let on in the corresponding room or rooms. By pushing the same rod or rods upward the cook or cocks with which it or they are connected will be reversed and the water shut oft. In the case of ships said pipes might communicate with the sea. The perforated pipes would be led along beneath the decks in such position as to insure an equal distribution of water to the hold or any other part of the ship.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- In combination with the perforated tubes a, arranged in the several rooms of a building, and the supply-tube b, connected therewith, the cooks c, connecting-rods d, elbow-levers e, and pull-rods f, the latter being placed together, and extending downward to a point conveniently accessible, as shown and described.

The above specification of my invention signed by me the 27th day of April, 1876.

DONALD MGLEN N AN.

Witnesses JOHN DEAN, THOS. BROWN, Both of N 0. 17 Gracechm'ch Street, London. 

